Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

If you’ve been following Sally’s Baking Addiction since the beginning, you may remember my peanut butter banana oatmeal bars. They are, without a doubt, my FAVORITE healthy snack recipe ever. I played around with the recipe a bit and added some chocolate.

Because everything is better with chocolate, no? 😉

It is the super ripe bananas that make these bars so incredibly soft. Super ripe bananas are super-brown and super-sweet. The natural sweetness of the ripe bananas also lessens the brown sugar needed in these bars, which is always a good thing in my book.

The more ripe your bananas are, the better these bars will taste. And the softer they will be, too.

The peanut butter packs a HUGE flavor punch and the oats give these bars a nice chewy texture. The chocolate chips and peanut butter chips bring it all together. And these bars are so easy to make. When it comes to healthy recipes, simple and quick are the most important to me.

I loathe long bake times, complicated recipes, and slaving away in the kitchen.

There’s none of that in these bars. Just mix everything up in 1 bowl and 20 minutes later you’ll be snacking away.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

Makes 12-16 bars, depending how large you cut them. Bars stay fresh for up to one week in a covered container at room temperature or in the refrigerator. *Vegan option:* see note below. *Gluten Free option:* see note below.

Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.

Sally's Notes: These bars can easily be made vegan by using vegan chocolate chips + vegan putter butter chips and using a “flax egg” instead of a regular egg. Flax egg = mix 1 tbsp ground flax with 3 tbsp warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes while it “gels” up. Use the "flax gel" as a replacement for the egg. Make sure your oats are certified gluten free to ensure these bars will be gluten free.

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92 comments

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These bars are heavenly! I only used the chocolate chips since I don’t have peanut butter ones, but these were awesome all the same. I just had two, and the melty chocolate chips just oozing out of the bar… I’m speechless. 😀

I didn’t realize until I was ready to make these that I only had quick oats on hand… but they turned out great anyway! We baked them a bit longer, because they seemed a bit too soft/mushy, but I’m assuming that was due to the oats. Still, very delicious, and I will be making them again! Thank you 🙂

These were the first flourless treat I’ve ever baked and I am so happy that I did. Great way to use up my ripe bananas! Love the flavor combination, thanks for the tasty recipe!

Great recipe! I’m starting to drool just looking at those pictures. Just wondering- do you think it’ll be okay if I substitute applesauce for the banana? Everyone in my family but me hates bananas. Thanks!

Sasha, that would be just fine – I’ve done that before with success. You’ll need 1/2 cup.

I made these tonight after searching for a quick breakfast recipe. THEY ARE AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing! I did the ‘flax egg’ (a first for me!) and added some chia seeds. They were delicious–I will most definitely be making these again! 🙂

Hi Sally!
I have made these bars a few times. They are absolutely delicious and so easy to make! I love the fact that they do not contain flour. This last time, I added a few tablespoons of unrefined cocoa powder and only added the chocolate chips on top. They are a little less sweet, but still divine. Great recipe!!! Thanks for sharing it with us. 🙂

would it be okay to use almond butter instead?

Yep that would be fine!

Hey Sally, I’ve made these bars a few times and I really love them. My problem is that because I can’t get to grips with cooking in cups, they sometimes come out too dry or too soggy ect. I was wondering if you could put the grams in this recipe? That would be amazing. Thank you 🙂

Updated!

Thank you so much! You are officially the loveliest blogger!

Sally – I’ve just discovered your blog, and I’ve tried 2 of your recipes this week: pumpkin chocolate bread and these bars. Both of these have been -major- hits with my family. I am not a good cook and I rarely have 1, let alone 2 consecutive successes when trying new recipes! So thank you very much for sharing your talent and beautiful blog, and helping an inept cook like me look like a domestic goddess to my family!

These are so delicious, thanks for sharing. My daughter likes them & consider them healthy with the ingredients in this recipe. I just recently discovered your blog!

Hi! I’m so excited to cook these today, but I was wondering if I could use honey in place of brown sugar? Or maybe half honey, half brown sugar. Also, can I use previously frozen and thawed bananas? I know in your healthy banana bread recipe, you said that wouldn’t be a good idea.
Thank you!

I would do half honey and half brown sugar. I’m unsure about the frozen bananas here– sorry! Let me know if you try it.

I honestly didn’t have high expectations for these peanut butter oatmeal banana bars, but I was looking for a healthier way to use up some ripe bananas and decided to give them a try. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! These are delicious!! My only regret is not doubling the recipe. I can’t guarantee there will be any for the kids when they get home from school! Maybe I’ll just hide the evidence and pretend like I never made them. ssshhh! I’ll definitely bd making these again and again. FYI: I omitted the PB chips because I didn’t have any, and they weren’t missed at all.

Hi Sally!! I’m a beginner baker and your blog has helped me to love baking and to actually bake good stuff! Haha. I especially love your chewy fudgy brownies btw. They’re just heaven!!! I just have a question though, what would happen if i use instant oats in this recipe? 🙂

Hi Jam! Instant or quick oats, which are powdery and thin, will dry these bars out. Best to use thicker cut oats.

These are the best oatmeal bars ever! I, for one, am always searching the comments for substitutions so here are mine: (1) I omitted the sugar and added some liquid stevia instead (to taste), (2) replaced half of the peanut butter with coconut butter (not oil), (3) used just 25 grams of 86 % chocolate, which was plenty of chocolate flavor for me. They worked great with the flax egg. Thank you so much for the recipe, Sally!

Hi Sally! I was just wondering about your thoughts on using all natural peanut butter in this recipe, which would maybe require a slight increase in sugar? Love following your blog by the way!

Michelle, natural style PB should be just fine in these oatmeal bars. I’d increase the sugar to 1/3 cup!

I was wondering about how many calories are in these bars. Planning on taking them to work for our healthy snack days but need to be able to let the ladies know about the calorie count. Can you help me out?

Do you think these could be made in muffin tins as well? Same ingredients and measurements, but poured into muffin tins?

I can’t see why not. I’m unsure of the bake time though.

I made these with a “flax egg” and substituted in pure Almond Butter amd Raisins and dried Cranberries instead of the chocolate chips and PB chips, turned out great especially for my friend who don’t eat egg or chocolate! Thanks for the tips in your recipes – very helpful! By the way the link in paragraph one you referred to your first “Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal bars” isn’t working. Only thing wasn’t unclear to me in the recipe was when taking it out of the oven if to let it cool in the pan for a while or immediately turn it out onto the wire rack.
Thanks!

These are delicious, I make these almost every other week, another amazing recipe from Sally! Instead of making them into bars, I drop them on to a cookie sheet to make these delicious to-go balls — the perfect mid-workday snack. Thanks, Sally!